Malshej and more

  Malshej ghat witnesses huge number of tourists every rainy season. People travel to Malshej mostly in their own/hired vehicle & enjoy waterfalls, greenery & wind at Malshej..Its truely amazing experience to spend some hours in Malshej ghat. Unfortunately, this beautiful strip of road is occupied by drunkerds, which can turn your Malshej trip into nightmare if you are going with family or with ladies in a groups.

  But dont skip fantastic drive of Malshej for these antisocial drunken monkeys. Here I bring you some places which you can combine with Malshej ghat to make your trip interesting, or if you want to make your trip longer after enjoying Malshej.

1> Pimpalgaon Jog Dam -

     After crossing Mashej ghat MTDC resort, you will see this dam to your left while travelling from Mumbai to Otur. One road to the left leads to khireshwar village from where people start their trek for Harishchandra Gad. But even if you are in no mood for trekking, you can enjoy Jog dam surroundings.

2> Manikdoh Dam:

Manikdoh Dam

     If you wont mind driving bit further, take right turn for Lenyadri after traveling 5-6 kms further from Jog dam. Cross Ganesh khind. Take the road which heads to Rajur. Total distance from malshej to Rajur is 40kms. You can also visit Leopard rescue center near Manikdoh dam. 

3> Lenyadri & Ozar Temple

    These two temples are among Ashtavinayaks & hence very popular shrines. Lenyadri & Ozar are just 25 kms from Malshej.

4> Shivneri



Birthplace of Shivaji Maharaj



     Birthplace of great king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. This hill fort is near Junnar, One can reach base of the fort in an hour from Malshej Ghat. But if you are planning to visit Shivneri be prepared for climb of 30 minutes.

   

Trekking Options

There are many treks in viscinity of Malshej Ghat, One can opt for Harishchandra Gad, Chavand, Hadsar, Jivdhan or naneghat trek. While Jivdhan & Hadsar are bit hard to climb other treks are smaller & simple.

Accomodation options:

  MTDC resort & some other resorts in Malshej are always there. but you can also stay at Khireshwar village or Bhakt Niwas of Lenyadri & Ozar, or can look for a lodge in Junnar, or near Manikdoh dam.

There is also an interesting place, Kukadi river bank. Riverbed of Kukadi has developed potholes naturally, its very interesting and unique thing, but best time to visit is March to May.

So.. before this rainy season is gone, book your weekend and plan a trip.

Ashtavinayak in 24 Hours

    Here is a plan for those who love to race against time & try something new even on old routes.. this rainy season we took challenge of Ashtavinayak in 24 hours & we completed entire trip starting from kandivali & reaching Kandivali back within 24 hours.
    Usually people plan Ashtavinayak in 2 or 3 days, but here is a plan which can help you achieving it in a single day.But try this only in group. Dont do it alone or with family & I wont recommend it on bike.

    Assuming you are staying in Mumbai, I will refer Thane as a starting point. So Start from Thane at 2:45am and head straight to Kalyan - Murbad - Tokavade - Malshej Ghat - Ganeshkhind - Lenyadri. If you go without break and drive at good speed, you will reach Lenyadri base at 6:00 am. Climbing Lenyadri will take around 20 minutes. So visit the temple spend some time there & descend down Lenyadri base & start for Ozar by 7:00am.

    Ozar is just 12kms from Lenyadri. You should reach Ozar at 7:20am. Visit the temple, you can have breakfast here & start for Ranjangaon at 8:00 am. From Ozar go to Narayangaon - Take right & head to Chakan - On traveling around 30kms you will reach Rajgurunagar - Take left for Shikrapur - On reaching Shikrapur - head to Shirur - you will see Ranjangaon Temple besides highway to your right. It should take around 2:30 hours to reach Ranjangaon, So you will reach Ranjangaon at 10:30am and after visiting the temple start further at 11:00am.

     Next destination is Siddhatek, head to Shirur, just after crossing 5 kms. You will see huge tree to your right and a small road passing by to your right. This is MIDC pipeline road which is a short cut, & will take you via Nirvi - Nimone - Inamgaon to Kashti. (If you ask road to Sidhhatek people will tell you Shirur-Belwandi route but ask specifically for route going through villages mentioned above.Avoid travelling on this route after sunset.) You will Reach Siddhatek before 12:30 pm. via this route.

    You can enjoy Zunaka bhakar lunch at Sidhhatek but dont waste too much of time. Start ASAP, but latest by 1:30pm. Head to Duand - Patas - Chaufula - take left from petrolpump at Chaufula & travel 23 kms to reach Morgaon. This will take you 50 minutes max so, by 2:15pm you will be at Morgaon. Visit the temple & start further journey.

    Start latest by 3:00pm. Head to Chaufula, then take left turn & head to Pune. After travelling 20 kms. Take a right turn which will take you to next temple Theur, just 8 kms away from this junction. You will reach Theur by 4:00pm. Visit a temple, have a tea break and head for further journey.

    Start latest by 4:30pm. Head to Hadapsar - Katraj - take Mumbai -> banglore highway & then Expressway. Travel on Expressway till Khopoli - Take Khopoli exit & travel to mahad which is just 6-7kms from exit. This entire route will take around 3-4 hours depending on traffic from Hadapsar to katraj to Expressway.

    Reach Mahad by 8:00pm visit the temple & then head to Pali. Start latest by 8:30pm to reach Pali which is 38kms away by 9:30pm. visit Pali temple & then come back till Khopoli to take expressway and then head back to your home.

    Please note: if due to some reason you reach Khopoli late, then head for Pali first and then go to Mahad, because Pali temple will shut down at 10:30pm whereas temple at Mahad is open till 12:00 midnight. I have assumed some buffer in every destination considering queue at some temples or any other unanticipated events. So try to be as quick as possible and enjoy your trip.

    I wont recommend Chaturthi / Ganesh Janma etc. to plan this as you will lose so much time in queues that the plan will fail,so plan it in offseason.

    Total distance travelled: 825kms Kandivali - Ashtavinayak - Kandivali.

    Travellers: Karishma Patil, Shruti Joshi, Vikram More, Mayur Patil, Prasad Chavan, Prasad Kargutkar, Nilesh Jadhav & Kaustubh Khare.
    Vehicles: Hyundai Santro & Ford Figo.

   Drive safely, enjoy your trip and you can contact me on 9820031162 or write me to kaustubhkhare@gmail.com if you need any help in planning the trip.